Most extensive TV program advertising campaign ever according to who? NBC? Having a "KITT" on display somewhere isn't extensive nor is the ComiCon stuff or putting up a few banners or commercials on only the parent network of NBCU isn't all that extensive, oh yeah or the movie theater cardboard standee or commercial that ran in some, it's all been done before for other shows. My Own Worst Enemy was the main focus of the advertising campaign during the Olympics as well. The problem isn't the promotion from the start though, it's the direction GST took it in and NBC gave the okay for and then after the show came back after the hiatus NBC gave nearly zero promotion to it, even turning the NBC filled Super Bowl though all that advertising did NOTHING to help any of those shows anyway so the argument could be made that it was pointless but at the very least they could have potentially got back some of the audience it lost from the first few episodes. A lot of people were disappointed from the backdoor pilot, they didn't do much to resolve those disappointments other than having more action but then forgetting everything else, the promos with KITT transforming turned off more people and Attack Mode even more. Then there were those who were like "What? No Hasselhoff?!" Then there's the obviously issue of everything on NBC pretty much being in the toilet to the point that of the new NBC shows now, Knight Rider was somehow the highest rated in total viewers.

Either way though, I do agree that it's not all NBC, there's plenty of blame to go around.

The new and again improved evil's advertisement is currently too long and too badass to display here. But let's just say that with now 50% more evil, this **** is great!

Sorry, used completely the wrong wording there, didn't mean to use "extensive" at all: d'oh! I meant "successful". And yes, KR had the most successful advertising campaign for a new series - source: Sci-Fi Now magazine, issue from October last year. This doesn't mean anything to do with ratings, the campaign was given this official title through research carried out before the show aired. In other words more people were aware of it and aware of it returning. The fact they didn't tune in in those numbers could be an indication of those factors you mention. I'd like to think enough people from the pilot would've tuned in again but I think more were turned off by the transformations etc and all the other countless changes that were turning this show away from being proper "Knight Rider". (I don't think the lack of The Hoff would've been a factor though, the pilot made that clear.) Even though I love the transformations once I got to see the series develop after a few episodes, and I've always liked the attack mode, I can understand why it would've turned people off, their initial reaction possibly being that it was a cheap copy of Transformers.

I still prefer the smooth transitions in the pilot and the fact KITT could only change into vehicles of similar mass, change colour etc. And yes, after the pilot they should've concentrated on how to fix those niggles that some people had. This occurs after every pilot, it's meant to be smoothed out into a proper series and I think if Dave Andron had been in charge (maybe not a show runner if NBC wouldn't give him that position, but at the very least head writer) we would've got a completely different show, much more in tune with the original series.